From Portsmouth to Ponaganset, coronvirus has forced graduating seniors to reconsider college choices

Linda Borg Journal Staff Writer @lborgprojocom

Monday

Apr 27, 2020 at 2:16 PM

COVID-19 has punched a giant hole into the college dreams of many graduating seniors, turning a season that should have been a time for celebration into weeks of uncertainty, worry and dismay.

More than half of the 1,000 teenagers surveyed by Junior Achievement USA and Citizens Bank said they worried about how the virus will affect their future plans, nearly half said COVID-19 has upended their plans to pay for college and nearly a third say they have had to postpone their college start.

For Finn Small, a senior at Providence Country Day, Bennington College was love at first sight. Nestled in the foothills of the Green Mountains of Vermont, the liberal arts college is famous for its arts programs and its eclectic architecture.

Small was thrilled when Bennington gave him a substantial financial aid package. Now that COVID-19 has shuttered campuses across the country, he worries that his long-awaited first semester of intimate classes and trips to the quad will be replaced by a virtual simulacrum.

“If the first semester is online, I wonder if it’s worth it,” he said. “A gap semester may be what I’m looking at. Maybe I’ll work here and save some money.”

Finn, who plans to major in geriatric psychology, said he hasn’t gotten much guidance from the college, which is facing its own challenges in shifting to distance learning.

“A lot of the appeal of Bennington was its campus,” Finn said. “I was blown away when I visited. It’s located on top of a mountain with 360-degree views. I’d be 100 percent missing out on that.

“There’s a lot of anxiety about all of this,” he said. “I can’t make concrete decisions because of [COVID-19]. It’s stressful for all of us, not knowing. I don’t know if I should prepare to move on campus or not.”

The virus has also underscored the gaps between the haves and have-nots, with seniors from disadvantaged families bearing the brunt of diminished finances.

Niamiah Jefferson, a senior at Ponaganset High School, had hoped to go to Howard University, a historically black college known for its academic excellence.

That was pre-cononavirus. Now her parents want her to stay closer to home in case there is another surge this fall.

“It’s kind of disheartening,” she said this week. “I got really good grades. I was in the top 20 percent of my class. I am very involved in my community. I worked very hard to make sure I got into the college of my choice.”

Jefferson is now thinking about attending the University of Rhode Island or Wheaton College in Massachusetts. Her parents want her to commute.

“That’s a pretty scary option for someone who has wanted to experience every aspect of college since I was a freshman,” she said.

Now add the financial complications wrought by COVD-19.

“My mother is unemployed. My dad works two jobs but he is working fewer hours,” she said. “Money was tight. Now it’s even more tight, especially with me going to college. My parents are very nervous about me taking out loans.”

“I am so confused,” she said. “I don’t know where I want to go. I do know where, but it’s no longer an option. I’m nervous about making a mistake or that I won’t enjoy the experience. I’m very worried about money.

“Some of my friends already know where they are going to school. They already have roommates.”

Mealaktey Sok is a senior at Classical High School in Providence.

The pandemic has forced her to reconsider her college choices. The cost of tuition has become a nagging worry.

“I have to reconsider my choices especially because my financial aid packages weren’t as good as they could have been without COVID,” she said.

Everyone in her father’s department has been laid off. Her mother’s hair salon is closed.

“Just thinking about my parents, I don’t want to put that financial burden on them,” she said.

Worcester Polytechnic Institute is her first choice for school, but it’s pricey. URI, where she has been accepted into the prestigious College of Engineering, is a much more sensible choice, but ….

Meanwhile, May 1 looms, the deadline for sending in her first tuition payment.

Connor Little, a senior at Portsmouth High School, hasn’t decided where he’s going next year, part of the general confusion swirling around the pandemic.

“I’m trying to narrow down my choices,” he said, “but there is no guarantee there will be college on campus this fall. It makes me wonder, ‘Why would I spend all that extra money?’ I could go to the Community College of Rhode Island and get a much cheaper education there. A lot of my friends who were going to out of state are now signing up for CCRI.”

Illness forced Little to miss his junior prom last year.

“Now another sickness has ruined my high school experience,” he said. “We understand why this is happening. My friends and I support social distancing. But we’re disappointed.”